Are these specs good enough for The 3/4?

[laurasim]

Hi there everyone! For Christmas I'm getting a new desktop/laptop. But money is really tight and my max is £380 (I know it's very low... but I'm sure I can do it!)

I found a Zoostorm desktop which comes with integrated Intel HD Graphics 2500 a 3.3 ghz processor Intel Core i5 3330 and 1 TB of hard drive and 8 GB ram in my budget.

In very simple terms, is this good enough to play the sims on about medium settings?

If not, please tell me in simplicity what i need in a laptop/desktop for Sims 3/4 when it comes out (rough estimate).
It would be extra helpful if you could name or link PCs that would be OK for the sims. Thank you!

[Pam]

Welcome to our Forum, Laurasim.

About the specifications for Sims 4, there has been no information released thus far.  I can guess that it will be at least as much as needed for Sims 3, but I can't go beyond that.

As for the computer you mentioned, having an integrated graphics card is not good for Sims 3.  It needs a good quality dedicated graphics card to run properly.  The specific ones are listed in the official specifications for the game.  Also, keep in mind that the requirements go up as you add expansions.  I'm not aware of anything that states the requirements for all of the expansions.

[Angélique]

Hi there everyone! For Christmas I'm getting a new desktop/laptop. But money is really tight and my max is £380 (I know it's very low... but I'm sure I can do it!)

I found a Zoostorm desktop which comes with integrated Intel HD Graphics 2500 a 3.3 ghz processor Intel Core i5 3330 and 1 TB of hard drive and 8 GB ram in my budget.

In very simple terms, is this good enough to play the sims on about medium settings?

If not, please tell me in simplicity what i need in a laptop/desktop for Sims 3/4 when it comes out (rough estimate).
It would be extra helpful if you could name or link PCs that would be OK for the sims. Thank you!

The sims 3 and integrated graphics is not a successful combination, especially not if you want to be able to run anything more than just the base game alone, which I assume you will want to do. If you want more specific guidance for choosing a Sims 3 compatible graphics card, I suggest you take a look at this Sims Wiki chart. Choose a card that only has all Yes'ses on green background for all the expansions and stuff packs listed. If you do that, you will be reasonably certain that your computer will manage to play the game without too many problems.

As for the other specs on the computer you mention, that is processor, storage space and amount of RAM, I think they're okay and sufficiently fast/large for the task. But I want to point out that nobody can give you a 100 % guarantee beforehand, you never know for sure until you install the game, and then try to start and run it.
 

[Lord_Dweedle]

You'd need 1GB VRam minimum for The Sims 3.  I have 1GB and even I buckle on my Laptop in large areas.

I do think you could do serious damage to your computer from heat alone with integrated graphics.  For Laptops the best choices are Alienware and Razer.  I wouldn't risk any other brand for playing intensive games such as The Sims 3.

[Pam]

I do think you could do serious damage to your computer from heat alone with integrated graphics.  For Laptops the best choices are Alienware and Razer.  I wouldn't risk any other brand for playing intensive games such as The Sims 3.

I agree about the heat with a laptop.  That can be a big factor in the decision of laptop vs. desktop. 

[Lord_Dweedle]

I just had a thought, perhaps the heat issues could be limited by using a powerful laptop cooler pad such as this? http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/Cooler-Master-NotePal-X3-Laptop-Cooler/21567261/

I still wouldn't suggest integrated graphics but if it's the only option I can admit personally to having had Sims 3 (and 2 expansions) run on integrated graphics before but it did end up only running at 30fps.  This was with a year old laptop as well (running an x14 laptop now).

[Pam]

Those fans help, but it still runs hot.